Ascent81’s BodyBlog

"How do I get a six pack?"

It appears the experts change their opinion on this one every decade. In the 80s articles on getting a six pack were all about ab exercises. Then in the 90s the articles became about diet and weight loss. I think we’re still in the 90s now, which is a good thing. Why? Because diet is 90% responsible for revealing your abs (the other 10% is the cardio or fat-burning activities you do). Of course, if you lack ab development, the revelation won’t be very impressive. You could diet away the fat and reveal a flat stomach. Which is the goal for most women. But men — and this is my main audience — want more than that. They want a defined and sculpted mid-section.

The obvious solution, then, is to do both. Work your abs (for ab development) and then diet to reveal all the hard work.

But now we’re faced with a new question. "What is the best ab exercise?"

My answer is simple: weight lifting.
Not crunches, leg lifts, upside down twists, or scissor monkey split kicks. Just plain old weights. With barbells and dumbbells and such things. Any exercise (like squats, deadlifts, rows, etc) that requires you to stabilize your core will, in time, develop your core. But, again, all the core and ab development in the world will not make a difference unless you diet, diet, and diet some more.

So lift weights to develop your six pack. Diet to reveal it.